Back in New York! It was nice to be out of town, but it’s good to be home. Here is the winner of the FoodTrients giveaway, so I don’t leave ya hanging:
Congrats, Liz! Please send me your mailing address so we can get that out to you.
—
Catching up? Here’s what you missed!
A beautiful wedding in Indiana
Art and culture in Portland, Maine
Veg-friendly finds in Portland
One of the fun parts of travel is finding a place to stay. After quite a bit of research, we chose a bed & breakfast rather than a a hotel. I love bed & breakfasts. They’re so much more intimate and comfortable than hotels, which all tend to look the same. Because we’re still in the “off-season” (before Memorial Day) we were able to find some really good rates online. We finally settled on the West End Inn, located in an area of Portland filled with historic houses and brick sidewalks. The inn is run by Deb and Scott Devlin, who really made us feel like we’d found a home-away-from-home with them.
We stayed in Room 2, which was tastefully sea-themed and absolutely gorgeous. Four poster bed? Check! Crustacean pillows? Double check!
The rooms were cheerfully decorated with bright colors and lots of windows.
The dining room was warm and inviting…
… and I scouted out a few comfy spots to read.
B travels a lot for work, so we brought along the car-chargeable refrigerator he recently purchased to make healthy eating on the road a little easier.
We didn’t know what the food situation was going to be like, and it’s nice to be able to keep things like leftovers and snackables around. (And bottles and bottles of juice!)
Food ended up being the least of our worries, and breakfast at the inn became one of my favorite times of the day. I’d sit at a little corner table in one of the dining room’s cozy nooks, lingering with my book over hot tea.
Before we arrived, we called the inn to tell them we were non meat-eaters and see if we should plan on bringing our own food. Deb and Scott, who used to run a restaurant, assured us they were experienced with vegetarian and vegan cooking and we’d have no problem. And boy, did we luck out with our meals!
Each morning, we were greeted with a coffee and tea bar, freshly baked muffins still warm from the oven, granola, Greek yogurt and organic juices. The muffins (adjusted to be made vegan) were some of the best I’ve ever had. Each morning we were served a different flavor, from blueberry to blackberry-orange to banana to apple-walnut.
While we waited for our entrées, each guest was served a fresh fruit cup. B had to be at work quite early and wasn’t expecting to eat breakfast at all. However, Deb and Scott were up with him each morning with a hot breakfast and a fresh pot of coffee. He reported delicious omelets, fritattas, and eggy scrambles that fueled him up for the day.
We were given at least two options each morning for breakfast, and all of my selections were scrumptious.
In the afternoon for tea-time, out came the cookies! Most days we had chocolate-chip, but on our last night they had a little something extra.
I hope you can tell from this glowing review how nice our stay at the West End Inn was. Everything was incredibly comfortable and relaxing, and we were so appreciative of the hospitality. Deb and Scott went out of their way to accommodate us, and it really made our experience special.
VEG-FRIENDLY PORTLAND
Stay: West End Inn, 146 Pine St.
Eat: Green Elephant, 608 Congress St. Asian-fusian vegetarian bistro
Local Sprouts, 649 Congress St. Local and organic cafe and co-op. Stocks dairy and vegan desserts from Bomb Diggity Bakery
Silly’s, 40 Washington Ave. Huge selection of meat, vegetarian and vegan comfort food, from almond-goat cheese pizza to forearm-sized burritos. Ridiculous vegan-friendly milkshakes and desserts, as well as a notable beer and wine list
Pepperclub, 78 Middle St. Seasonal meat, fish, vegetarian/ vegan menu with a 4-course $20-30 prix-fixe menu. Vegan desserts!
Coffee/ Dessert: Yordprom, 722 Congress St. Thai-American coffee shop serving food as well; stocks rice, soy and almond milk in addition to dairy
Market House Coffee, 28 Monument Square. Located in the Public Market House collective, serves rice, soy and almond milk as well as desserts from Bomb Diggity Bakery
Silly’s
Local Sprouts
Do you enjoy spending the night in a hotel? Have you ever stayed in a bed & breakfast?
